Columbo: Murder, A Self Portrait

Some say he is a contrary sort but painter Max Barsini is certainly a bit of a character. He lives with his current wife and his model under one roof, while his ex-wife lives next door. It is a complicated situation that seems to work quite easily – until that is, Max's ex starts seeing her psychologist and potentially revealing a secret from his past. To ensure that this does not happen, Max kills her and makes it look like a swimming accident. However for Columbo it doesn't quite add up and he starts asking just one more question to get to the bottom of the mystery.

The Columbo films are enjoyable to those that enjoy them mainly because they just follow the same reliable formula. With the new Columbo films some have tried to vary this with differing degrees of success. Here we have a fairly straight shot at the formula with the usual cat and mouse games, a new world or career for Columbo to be interested in (or feign interest in) and a murder to be solved. At this level the plot does work and fans of the series will find some stuff to enjoy but I didn't think it was one of the better of the series. The dream sequence stuff put me off a little bit and the development of the case left much to be desired – I must confess I wasn't totally engaged in it at any point. That said I did find it distracting and it had enough moments that were typically Columbo to suffice.

The cast are reasonably good. Falk is as enjoyable as ever and he works well with the material. Bauchau is not as good as the series usually demands but he is still a fun presence. Support is not as good from Flanagan, Danese and Lorca but generally they are good enough to do the job. The chemistry between the lead two is pretty good and I would have quite liked to see them served with better material.

Overall this is an OK Columbo film that will please fans of the series but seems unlikely to be good enough to win over new ones. The acting from the lead two is good enough to do the job even if the material is not quite as consistently engaging as at times it is. Worth a look for the formula but there are better Columbo films.

Although I haven't seen every Columbo episode there is, I'm certain the pattern is the same: A wealthy and intelligent individual (who is sometimes a celebrity) plans and executes a perfect murder. Then, Columbo enters the scene and since there are no witnesses he has to rely heavily on circumstantial evidence. Columbo finally out-smarts his suspects and arrests the criminal. At this point I always think that in real life this individual will hire a high-paid lawyer who will rip Columbo's case to shreds, but that's material for another movie.

Max Barsini fits perfectly into that typical criminal profile: wealthy and intelligent. But there's one more thing to add: a super-inflated ego, strong enough to dominate three women. Nevertheless, by the second half of the movie his character and his ego starts deflating, and at the end he just simply surrenders without putting up a fight. And that's the disappointment that I had with this episode, and many other episodes, where the person who was smart enough to plan an almost perfect homicide, suddenly succumbs under Columbo's pressure. Of course, not all Columbo's movies end up this way, and therefore I consider them my favorites. Unfortunately this one is not one of them.

By the time "Murder, a Self Portrait" was made, more than 20 years had passed since the first "Columbo" movie. This, combined with a relatively unexciting case make this a must-see for fans. Others might just wanna try one of the earlier installments.

When the episode begins, you see that the artist Max Barsini has a most unusual living arrangement. His marriage seems very open and strange. His ex-wife lives next door and is very actively involved with Max's second wife as well as his lover...and the four of them eat and spend their time together! At first, it appears as if they are one big happy, albeit strange, family. However, when the first wife wants to leave and start a new life, Max's narcissism and co-dependence kick in and he murders her....making it look like a simply drowning. However, Columbo is on the case....and there seems to be nothing like a simple death to him!

The guest actors in this one are okay....but not particularly memorable or exciting to watch. The same goes with the finale, which has little in the way of fireworks or excitement.

As a longtime Columbo fan, I in general liked Murder, A Self Portrait, but I don't consider it one of the better episodes. Starting with the problems, I do agree about the ending, the character of Barsini was so strong a vast majority of the episode but the ending where he gives up all too easily I felt weakened his character. I had very mixed feelings on the dream sequences, they are stylishly shot and convincingly played but also convoluted and solved too simply. However Murder, A Self Portrait is beautifully shot with striking scenery and has an atmospheric music score. The dialogue is generally clever and thoughtful, Columbo and Barsini's scenes are fun to watch but I would've loved to have seen more of the other suspects. The story has a few patchy moments here and there and feels a little strtched towards the end, but it is briskly paced and interesting on the whole, and the acting while I have seen better with Columbo episodes is good. Peter Falk as he always is as Columbo is brilliant, and Patrick Bauchau is engaging as Barsini. The support cast don't have as much to do, but Fionnula Flannagan and particularly Shera Danese are good. All in all, an interesting and worthwhile episode, but not one of my favourites. 7/10 Bethany Cox

I'm not in the television or visual art business, but I must remark about the interesting composition of what the television viewer sees on the television screen during this singular episode of Columbo. The on screen artwork props are quite tacky, except for the final portrait that appears in the ending credits. But, different scenes in this story are characteristic of various artists when creatively blending the lighting, shading, qualities of color, staging, props, and so on. One scene mimics Norman Rockwell, even. Maybe this is just in my head, but somebody behind the production of the scenes created a television classic. I'm willing to wager that if you were to show this episode to a handful of art enthusiasts in a communal setting, the resulting observations would interestingly quite descriptive.